How rare level of continuity can benefit Seahawks’ O-line

After years of struggles in the trenches, the Seattle Seahawks fielded their best offensive line in ages this past season.

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With steady pass protection, the Seahawks ranked 12th in ESPN’s pass block win rate and surrendered just 27 sacks during the regular season – their lowest mark in two decades and their third-lowest in franchise history. They also ranked eighth in ESPN’s run block win rate, which paved the way for a rushing attack that averaged 138 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry from Week 10 through their Super Bowl triumph.

And the best part? The entire group is coming back.

The Seahawks boast an extremely rare level of continuity along their O-line, having retained all 11 linemen who took snaps during their 2025 Super Bowl-winning season. That includes a cornerstone trio of left tackle Charles Cross, left guard Grey Zabel and right tackle Abraham Lucas, who are each under contract with Seattle through at least 2028.

The continuity even extends to veteran offensive line coach John Benton, who is back his second year on Mike Macdonald’s staff.

Just how beneficial can that continuity be for an O-line? Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Ray Roberts shared his perspective last week on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“There’s something to be said for knowing exactly who you have in the room and knowing how everyone fits together,” Roberts said. “… If I’m the left tackle, I don’t want my left guard to keep being a different dude. I want it to be a guy that I can get into a rhythm with, I can understand how I can mitigate his weaknesses, he can understand how he can mitigate mine, and then we work around that. We build around that.

“Same with the guard and the center, and the center and the other guard, and the right guard and the right tackle. Like, you want to be able to have that type of synergy.”

Roberts said he experienced that during his time as the left tackle for the Detroit Lions, when he spent the better part of five seasons playing alongside left guard Mike Compton.

“We just got to a place where we didn’t even have to say anything,” Roberts said. “He knew, like, man, I better sit on the inside here a little bit, because this guy may give Ray some problems with the inside rush. Or I knew on a double team, like, man, he’s gonna have to block Warren Sapp, so I’m gonna have to give him a little bit more time on the double team before I go to the second level. Like, those types of things.

“And so it’s hard to create that type of stuff when you’re just constantly changing people in and out.”

Listen to the full conversation with Ray Roberts at this link or in the audio player above. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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